Chapter 13: Limitation
--
The top of the mountain consisted mostly of the huge, wide road. And it was really huge. It was more than wide and long enough for a normal plane. And it was definitely not built for the use of cars since there wasn't any road leading down from the mountain.
"The vessel," Edward simply said, meaning the huge black ship Eckart had escaped from Munich with. There were wheel tracks all over the place, indicating that something big had landed there. He sat on one knee studying the contours of the ground with a thoughtful look on his face and touched the road with his flesh hand. "This road was made with alchemy."
Alfons' eyes narrowed. It made sense. He remembered that Dietlinde Eckart had been able to use alchemy. If she could use alchemy in the other world, she probably could use it here as well. Of course, that would only make their mission more difficult. Alfons didn't mind having alchemy on their side, but thinking of how alchemy could be used against them was something completely different. Alfons knew he couldn't really imagine the extent of that great power.
"The question is…" Edward muttered. "Where the hell did the vessel go after it landed here?"
"Maybe it's out in the air," Alfons suggested.
Edward shook his head. "It's not likely. They attacked Central only two days ago. The attacks usually have weeks between them before they happen, and I doubt they would take a tour just for fun. The reason for their rare encounters with this world is probably to make it difficult to track them."
Alfons sighed. "So where do you think they are?"
Edward stood back up. "They're definitely underneath us."
Alfons stared bluntly at him. At least that made sense as well. Obviously Thule wouldn't have their aircraft standing on top of a mountain for show. The mountain had to be hollow somehow, like a very large cave. "I agree. But how are we supposed to get inside?" he asked. "There must be a door or something somewhere."
Edward beckoned a slight look of forebodingness. "To be honest with you, I thought they would be all over us by now."
Alfons started to wonder if fate was playing games with them, because right after Edward had formed the word 'now', the ground underneath them started rumbling and shaking. No, moving.
The ground was literally moving.
Both of them were almost tossed right off their feet as the ground had made a sudden lurch, and a huge crack revealed itself across the ground.
Alfons found himself on his knees and palms, staring wide eyed at the opening to his left which slowly came into his view as the ground split into two halves.
Edward had managed to keep himself on his feet, looking warily at the opening. The solid concrete was splitting itself on the middle in two on a quite large area. Like a mechanism. He did some quick math in his head. The splitting road was made in two layers, where the lower layer was disappearing underneath the upper one further to each side. In its total width, a vessel like Dietlinde Eckart's would easily fit.
"Alfons," Edward said rigorously. "I think we'll finally get some company soon."
Alfons pushed himself up to his feet, still a little shaken. "Finally?" he breathed. The apprehensiveness in his stomach was a real factum now. The ground they were standing on was still moving. The crack was several meters wide by now.
Then it abruptly stopped, making Alfons almost stumble off his feet again. But something told him that it wasn't in his total width yet. It could still be opened further, wider, so Eckart's vessel could be able to fit inside. But it didn't have to now. Humans would easily be able to come through.
And Edward had been right.
As soon as the mechanism had stopped, several figures dressed in black clothes Alfons remembered as Thule Society's uniforms, leaped up from stairs beneath the ground from the split opening. They came from everywhere, and all of them were armed. Even at the opposite side of the crack where they couldn't actually reach them, several of them showed up, pointing their guns around. Although, Alfons was more occupied worrying about the ones on their side – who would soon be close enough to reach for them. Each one of them eyed them closely with their guns ready.
They were wearing gas masks, he noted alarmingly. Why would they wear gas masks out in fresh air?
They were closing in towards them slowly, forming a circle. Neither of them was saying a word, and Alfons found himself standing pressed back to back with Edward right in the middle of the offensive circle. He watched them anxiously but hid it behind his wariness. His legs automatically parted to lower his centre of gravity, just like Edward had taught him a long time ago.
"Thule Society, I presume," Edward said in a low voice.
The black clothed men went into a quick charge. Everyone at the same time like someone had dropped their leash. Alfons was grappled firmly and dragged away from Edward and his arms were tackled behind his back before he could do anything. Ah, well… they were supposed to get caught anyway. He hoped Edward had a more detailed plan than this to work out later.
Then he suddenly found out why they were wearing gas masks. One of them sprayed some kind of damp into his face and he was forced to inhale it. Immediately after his mind started to shut down.
Chloroform.
Alfons' coughed hard and the image in front of his eyes blurred. His knees refused to hold him up. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was firm hand gripping around his face and a deep monotone voice said: "You…"
--
His head felt heavy against the cold, rigid ground. The air was frosty and smelled raw. Somehow he only knew they had to be inside the mountain. Alfons' eyes opened slowly; the image before them still swam of dizziness. But still he could verify that he was lying on his stomach and his hands were bound.
As his eyes managed to focus, he noticed that Edward's face was only a few inches from his own. He stared, eyes wide. Edward's face was motionless and his eyes were closed. He was lying on his back beside him, on top of his supposedly tied up hands. Seemed like he had been dropped quite carelessly into the position.
"Edward?" Alfons whispered. He tried to move and groaned. Every nerve and muscle in his body complained of stiffness, especially his chest. He had totally forgotten about his medicine and now the pain from his injuries was sneaking back to attack his nerves. Just great timing.
"One of them is awake," a voice behind him commented, and he whirled around on his side, staring directly towards a dark figure sitting by a small table in the dim light.
"Seems like it," another voice scoffed back from somewhere else.
Alfons saw the first figure rose, his chair scraping loudly against the stone floor. He struggled fiercely against his bonds as the man dressed in the characteristic Thule-uniform approached him and crooked his knees down beside him.
"I hadn't expected to find a fellow German at this place," he said, "Alfons Heiderich, isn't it?"
Alfons stopped fighting against his bonds and scanned the man's face. He had seen him before, but he didn't know his name. He recognized him as one of the guards that had come to collect them the night they had escaped from their cell at Thule Society's headquarters in Munich. He had attacked the man himself, tackled him to the ground and Edward had knocked him out. The memory was still very strong.
"Yes," he said in a low voice. "And you are?"
"Schiller," he replied tediously.
Alfons gazed towards the other man who approached behind Schiller.
"This is Ackman," Schiller said.
Alfons swallowed. He had been in the cell that night too. Edward had smashed his head into a wall.
Ackman leered. "Do you remember the last time we met? You did a pretty good acting performance, playing dead."
Alfons tried not to look as scared as he felt. "It's the oldest trick in the book," he said, forcing his voice to work properly. "We were surprised that you actually fell for it."
"Well soon you don't have to only act like it anymore," Ackman threatened, and Alfons flinched back, closer to Edward.
"There, there," Schiller said, standing up. "No reason to be unfriendly. They both will cooperate with us and be good, right?" He gave Alfons a polite smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Alfons shot him a frosty glare, not replying.
Ackman moved on the other side of Edward, looming over him. "Hey, time to wake up for you too." He kicked Edward's side, not too hard, but hard enough to alarm Alfons.
"Stop that," he hissed.
Ackman placed his boot on top of Edward's chest, touching his cheek with the tip. "Why don't you try to stop me yourself?" he grinned. His boot tipped against the side of Edward's face, flipping his head to the side.
Edward's face stirred and a groan escaped his throat, but his eyes were still shut.
Alfons gritted his teeth. "Leave him alone. What are you going to do with us?"
"Firstly," Schiller said, "ask you a couple of questions."
"Sounds like fun," Edward muttered behind another low groan.
Alfons twisted his head back at his companion, feeling relieved that he had finally come to. But now what? They were inside Thule Society's headquarters, but they still didn't know where to start looking. And first they had to get these two guys off their backs.
Edward scowled up at Ackman, and then Schiller. "I have some questions for you. Where is my brother?" he asked. "Answer that and I'll reply any question you like."
Alfons noticed a faint twitch of a smirk on Schiller's lips, and he frowned. The sign was an obvious recognization. He definitely knew something.
"Too bad," Ackman said, pressing his boot against Edward's chest. "You don't make the rules of this game."
"So you want to play, then," Edward managed through gritted teeth. "Alright." He flipped his right leg up in the air, curled it around the back of Ackman's knee, and shot his metal leg firmly into the captured knee. Ackman flinched and buckled down on the floor, holding around his leg and shouted out in an immense deal of pain.
Alfons swallowed hard. They had done a mistake not tying up Edward's legs too, but on the other hand, this would probably only get them into deeper trouble.
Schiller stepped quickly towards Edward, grasping a hold underneath his arms and dragged him away from Ackman along the floor. Edward snarled and struggled against him, but almost with a great ease Schiller planted Edward firmly down on the chair he had used earlier, placing his arms behind the back of the chair.
"Damn you, kid," Ackman gnarled. The man glared at both of them with a bloodthirsty look which made chills run down Alfons' spine.
"I'm surprised that it was only the two of you arriving here," Schiller said tonelessly, ignoring Ackman, like nothing had happened. "Where are the others?"
Edward looked like something of a combination of being pleased and annoyed, and just hissed a short reply. "Fuck you."
"No one else knows," Alfons shot in to save Edward. "We're the only ones who got the signal."
Schiller looked doubtful. "Is that so?"
He wasn't buying it, but Alfons didn't give up that easily. "We knew it came from you... from Thule Society, but no one in the military would believe us."
"So you just arrived here and walked purposely into an obvious trap without anyone knowing where you'd gone? Hm."
Alfons tried to look ashamed, like that had really happened. But he knew Schiller didn't buy it. They would still expect the military to come.
"Where is Al?" Edward shot in.
Schiller snorted. "Al? Who is that?"
Alfons' eyes narrowed. He was lying.
"My brother, you fucking asshole!" Edward bellowed.
Ackman sniggered, having somewhat recovered from the blow and stood up on his feet again. "Ah, I think I remember him. A small brat in a red coat? Wearing this?" He held up a watch. Alfons recognized it immediately. It looked identical to Edward's state alchemist watch.
Schiller gave his comrade a sour look.
Seeing the watch dangling from the German's hand with wide gold eyes, Edward started kicking and struggling fiercely against his bonds. "Fucking bastards! I'll kill you if you have as much as touched him!"
Ackman laughed shortly and nodded at Schiller. "In that case that's the man you'd want to kill."
Edward glared from Ackman and then to Schiller. His teeth scraped together. "Tell me where my brother is. Now."
Schiller just watched him without replying. "Ackman," he said calmly. "Watch your mouth from here on. Chairman Eckart wouldn't want our guests to be upset because of your blabbing." Without waiting for a reply, he went towards Alfons.
Alfons still lay on his side, looking apprehensively up at the approaching man.
"Fine," Ackman said.
Schiller curved down to Alfons and pulled him up to his feet, not as harshly as Alfons had expected him to. He swayed a little, but managed to stand. He finally took some seconds to scan the room. It was dark and empty. But not completely empty. He could see the dark silhouette of the huge vessel standing some yards away. Next to it stood a smaller plane, a motor jet. The room was in other words huge. Alfons glanced up at the ceiling, high above his head. They were in the room with the ceiling that could open. It was closed now. Effectively shielding them from the sun and freedom.
"Eckart will soon come to have a word with you two," Schiller said, shoving Alfons in front of him. "Until then, sit here and be quiet."
Alfons sat obediently down on the floor, a couple of feet away from Edward. He crossed his legs underneath him, receiving a questioning look from Edward, asking if he was okay.
Alfons nodded once.
"Watch them," Schiller said to Ackman. "If they try anything, remove his metal parts."
Both Edward and Alfons heard this, giving each other alarmed looks. Of course, Thule knew about the metal limbs. If they took them, they would have a big problem. Edward would be defenceless.
Schiller disappeared into the darkness, and they heard a door open and shut closed.
Alfons' stomach started to twitch and his head spin. This had been a bad idea. What scared him the most wasn't their actual situation, but that Edward really hadn't thought this through at all. How would they manage to escape and then shake these guys off? And how was he expecting to find his brother inside this mountain? It could be thousands of ways to go. Had they gone into a death trap? Had Edward lost his senses of reason? Had he ever had any senses of reason at all?
Ackman approached them, dragging away another chair from the table, and sat himself across it with the back of the chair in front of him. With a gun in his hand, he rested his arms on top of it and smiled deviously.
"You might remember General Hess?" he asked conversationally.
Edward's golden eyes darkened and Alfons visually shuddered. He couldn't help it. General Rudolph Hess was the man that had almost killed him with a gunshot, and before that he had killed Edward's father, Hohenheim. He couldn't remember much of it, but he had been told later that Hess had been shot by Officer Hughes right before he was about to kill Edward off.
"I hope that bastard rots in his grave," Edward spat.
"Ah, so he is dead? I figured," Ackman said. "Since you're alive, he obviously failed to kill you. Anyway, he was my commanding officer and a friend as well. Therefore, sometimes he told me stuff he didn't tell anyone else."
Edward snorted, unimpressed. "Whatever he told you, I don't care."
Alfons could take a good guess of what Ackman had heard.
"So you admit that you're fucking each other then, eh?" Ackman said with interest.
Alfons felt extremely uncomfortable with this.
Edward's eyes narrowed. "That's none of your fucking business."
Ackman stood up, starting sauntering around them. "How does it feel?" he asked with a grin. "Doing a guy? I've always wondered."
There was a dangerous undertone in his voice, and Alfons exchanged an uneasy look with Edward.
"Tell me, Heiderich."
Alfons felt a sweaty hand against his neck, making him shiver in terror. Ackman curved down, whispering in his ear. "Are you the one who fucks him, or does he fuck you?"
"Don't touch him you perverted freak," Edward snarled.
Ackman smirked. "I would think Alfons enjoys doing a cripple like you. He's the pervert."
"Shut the fuck up!" Edward shouted.
Ackman picked up a handkerchief from his pocket and blew his nose into it. "I think you're the one who needs to shut up," he said and straightened himself back up. He went straight for Edward, who struggled against the bonds in alarm, and Ackman stuffed the dirty handkerchief into his mouth.
Edward gagged in disgust and his body jerked in spasms like he was about to throw up.
"Leave him alone!" Alfons yelled, his fear was really starting to get a hold of him. This was madness.
Edward attempted to spit the cloth out, but Ackman pressed his sweaty hand against his mouth. "If you spit it out, I might hurt your boyfriend," he warned. He let go of Edward, who didn't spit out the tissue, but struggled fiercely against his gag reflexes.
Ackman approached Alfons again and pulled him up to his feet by the front of his shirt. "If I wanted to fuck a guy, it would be someone like you. A young, pretty German ass."
Alfons' eyes widened as large as a pair of saucers, his mind not really coping with what this man was saying. He felt a hand touching his side and he jerked away from the touch, a gasp escaping from the back of his throat. This couldn't be happening… Alfons felt his mind slipping into a terrified trance.
Edward trashed on his chair, a series of muffled curses echoing through the huge room.
Alfons was jolted forwards again by his shirt, staring up at the man in disbelief. He twisted his wrists behind his back in an attempt to loosen the bonds, but it was no use. Alfons found himself being pushed into the table face to face with the man, and he felt something of a hard bulge pressing against his thigh. Utterly terrified, he tried to swallow but his throat had laced together.
Ackman fixed his eyes on Edward, grinning. "Maybe I'll try it out. You would like watching your boyfriend getting fucked, no?"
Edward fought the bonds, mad with fury. But Alfons could spot another emotion in his animated golden eyes, just by glancing at him for a short second. Fear. Edward was scared.
Alfons sensed the hand coming back, feeling over his hip bone and lowered dangerously.
"Or we could go somewhere more private?" Ackman offered smugly.
This really couldn't be happening. Alfons forced his senses to starting working again and pulled himself out of the trance. He wouldn't just let something like this happen to him. Not in front of Edward. Not ever. He tried to shove the man away with his knee and twisted his body to pull himself out of the grasp.
"Fighting it just makes it more interesting," Ackman commented, and tossed Alfons facedown onto the table.
This was how real fear felt like, Alfons thought, noting absent-mindedly that a body was pressing against his own to hold him down on his stomach while he trashed about to get free.
"Let me go!" He panicked.
The slick hand was back, touching his thigh and ass, moving between his legs. Alfons squirmed and pressed his thighs together, and the hand spent some time pushing against the crack to pry them apart.
"Stop, no! Don't-!" Alfons heard his own voice muffled against the wood. It sounded far away.
A door sounded, and the hand stopped abruptly what it was trying to do.
Edward stilled as well.
Alfons was left breathing hard and short, barely noting the sound of a pair of woman's shoes clanking towards stone. It stopped, and he couldn't see her with his head the wrong way.
"Am I interrupting something?" a cold voice asked.
Ackman pulled Alfons away from the table and straightened him up, still holding his elbows. Alfons tried to gain back his normal rhythm of breathing, his face white as a sheet and his heart still razing.
"Not at all, ma'am. I was only talking to this kid, teaching him how to behave himself."
Dietlinde Eckart smiled, clearly oblivious to the fact of what she had stopped from happening. "What a nice surprise. Edward Elric and Alfons Heiderich. I have to admit, I really hadn't expected you two to show up here."
Edward growled through the gag.
"I suppose you stole one of my rockets and followed us through the Gate," she continued soothingly. "Well, well. Now that you are here, I hope you wish to stay for a while. We're expecting more guests to come soon." She let her bright, green eyes wander from Edward and slowly over to Alfons. "If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a favour." Without waiting for any reply she added. "Schiller."
Schiller stepped forward and collected Alfons from Ackman's grasp. Schiller shoved Alfons some steps forwards and pulled out the chair that Ackman had used earlier. He arranged it a couple of feet in front of Dietlinde Eckart and placed Alfons down on it. His arms got secured around the back of the chair, just like with Edward. Still quite shaken up, Alfons forced what almost had happened out of his mind. It hadn't happened and now he had other things to worry about.
What bothered him was that he couldn't see Edward anymore, since Edward was sitting further behind him, and it made him slightly more nervous. Now he couldn't even exchange a look with his lover and friend. He stared to the side, on a dirty spot on the floor, refusing to meet Eckart's piercing eyes. The last time he had seen her, she had ordered the homunculus Envy to kill Edward.
"How have you been, Alfons?" Eckart said, smiling. "I'm afraid I've never gotten the honour of having a conversation with you until now. But I was in contact with your team in Munich, which you probably know. They said you were one of the best. A prodigy. Isn't that correct?"
Alfons didn't reply, still not meeting her eyes. He didn't want to be in this situation. He wanted to go home. But home where? he thought darkly. He realized he didn't exactly have any.
"Look at me, Alfons. We don't want to harm you."
Alfons didn't believe that.
"Ackman," Eckart said.
Alfons heard a loud smash of a fist, and a loud muffled groan of pain. His stomach twisted and his breath came in as a rapid gasp. He twisted his head quickly, staring at Edward over his shoulder. Edward was bleeding from his nose, leaning his head back and his eyes were slightly drooping shut. Ackman had his blood on his knuckles.
"No," Alfons whispered. "Don't..." He turned around again, this time looking straight at Eckart. How could he be so selfish? He suddenly understood how Edward must have felt at the time Thule made him make the Gate in Munich. He forced his voice to work. "Please, don't hurt him."
Eckart gazed back to him from Ackman again. "I only said we wouldn't hurt you," she said, smiling. "But I guess we could make a compromise. He won't hurt your friend if you do as I say."
"Fine," Alfons said. "I'll do as you say."
Edward started to twist and oppose behind him, but he couldn't recognise anything coherent.
"Oh, I think he's trying to tell us something," Eckart said in an amused tone. "Remove the gag, then."
Alfons turned his head again and saw Ackman yanked the handkerchief out of Edward's mouth. Edward breathed heavily, still lying back with his head. Then he opened his eyes and stared straight at him. "Don't do... anything they tell you," he said. "I'm tougher than you know. I can... stand it, whatever they do."
Alfons' eyes intensified at him. Was he nuts? Who knows what they'd do to him if Alfons didn't obey. They might even kill him. Alfons had seen Edward beaten up to blood before. He didn't want to see that again. Therefore he shook his head violently for Edward to see. Then he turned fast around again to avoid seeing the look in Edward's eyes.
"Alfons!" Edward uttered.
"What do you want?" Alfons asked, addressing Eckart.
Dietlinde Eckart never cleaned the wide, devious smile of her face. "Our motor jet got a little damaged in Lior a couple of weeks ago. I simply want you to fix it."
"Hell, he'll never do that!" Edward barked. "It would help you continue your attacks around Amestris. Alfons, if you help them I'll-"
"Remove his metal part," Eckart said. "And see if he has a just as big mouth afterwards."
Alfons gritted his teeth, feeling his stomach twist. Damn it, Edward. He heard Edward fight and curse as Ackman started to undress him. Schiller went to assist him, and held Edward down while they untied him, removed his shirt and then removed his arm.
Edward withered and struggled fiercely. "Get your hands off, you bastards!"
Afterwards Ackman retied his remaining arm to the chair and wrapped the ropes around his chest as well.
Alfons glanced nervously back towards him as Ackman moved down and pulled up Edward's pants leg, and he quickly turned to Eckart again. "Please," he said desperately. "Don't do this. I've already agreed with you on your terms."
Eckart didn't acknowledge to have heard a word of what he had said. She just stared amused towards Edward.
Ackman pulled the hasp behind Edward's knee, and the metal leg parted from the metal port commencing his flesh.
"If you think that's going to stop me you fucking bastards, think again! Give them back!" Edward shouted, trashing in his chair.
Now Schiller stood with Edward's automail arm in his hands, and Ackman stood up, holding his leg.
"Ma'am!" Alfons said, his voice a little sterner. "This is not necessary. I'll repair your jet."
Her attention drove towards him again. "Alright, that's fine. Ackman, you can let him have his leg. He won't go anywhere without his arm anyway." She smiled at Alfons again. "A compromise."
Alfons scowled and looked down to the floor. He didn't want to turn around to see Edward's face again. Not if he would look at him again like he had betrayed him. Alfons had had enough of that as well. It was Edward's own fault that he had ended up in that situation. Why couldn't he just shut up for a change?
Ackman pulled Edward's pants leg back up, lining up the leg towards his port again. "You're lucky today, cripple."
Edward gritted his teeth and shut his eyes tightly. Alfons dared turn around and look, just as Ackman pushed the metal leg back in place, connecting the automail ports.
Edward made a pained noise through gritted teeth and jerked about in his chair. Then Alfons suddenly remembered. Connecting automail was very painful. His heart razed, observing pearls of sweat on Edward's forehead. This wasn't good.
"Oi, that looked quite painful, don't you think Schiller?" Ackman commented.
"Indeed, it seems like it."
Alfons didn't like this. Thule had just found out Edward's biggest weakness.
Edward's bare chest rose and sank in fast rhythm. He opened his eyes, meeting Alfons' with a wiry look in his deep golden eyes.
Alfons was kind of relieved there weren't any traces of betrayal there. Maybe Edward understood now that he didn't have a choice. If they were going to succeed and get away alive, Alfons had to do what he was ordered to do. Or else, Edward might not be able to make it.
Alfons felt thin, pale fingers with long and sharp nails curl around his cheeks, making a cold shiver run down his spine. Eckart twisted his head around to look at her again.
"Now," she said. "You'll come with me, and I will put you to work. Edward will stay here."
Schiller put down Edward's arm on the table, and Alfons heard his steps closing in on him from behind. He expected to be pulled up by force, or something like that. But instead, he felt his ropes were cut.
His hands were free. He rose slowly from the chair while rubbing his sore wrists.
"Ackman, you stay here and watch over Elric," Eckart ordered quietly.
Alfons' stomach made an uncomfortable twist, just by the thought of Edward being left alone with that man. He gazed back over his shoulder one last time, Edward meeting his eyes, looking motionless.
Alfons turned away from him, walking after Eckart with Schiller's watching eyes behind him. At least the motor jet was in the same room. If he heard Edward cry for help, he wouldn't hesitate to run to him immediately. Still, he definitely didn't like being forcefully parted from him.
Eckart headed to the motor jet, stopping by its side. "It was shot at in Lior. It damaged the engine and we had some technical difficulties."
Alfons nodded. He went to the plate and removed it by the hasps like he never had done anything else in his entire life. Which was almost the truth. He observed the insides. "I need more light," he said. There was in fact no electricity in this place.
Eckart just nodded at Schiller, and Schiller went to one of the walls, picked down a torch and went back. He held the firing stick up next to Alfons. "This is the best I can do."
Alfons peeked inside again. It was better, but not perfect. But still he knew enough to be able to fix it. Though, Edward was right. If he did, he'd only help Thule with attacking the military when they arrived later.
He cleared his throat. "It will take some time. I don't know. Maybe one day," he lied. He could fix this in two hours, but that might be exactly the time Thule needed before the military arrived.
"One day," Eckart repeated, sounding doubtful. "Are you sure about that?"
Alfons turned to her, not changing the serious look in his eyes, hoping he could talk his way out of her suspicions. "Yes, I'm afraid so. The compressor blades is seriously damaged and ripped, which means that it eventually will cause even more damage to the internals of the motor." He turned to the motor again, gesticulating with his hand. "And since the compressor is designed to draw air into the motor, the motor has aluminium covers placed over the compressor, here." He demonstrated where the compressor was, and the blades. "This clearance is extremely tight and it needs to be there to ensure the correct operation of the motor. But it seems... during your flight out in the desert, sand has been drawn into the engine and blocking the air intakes. It needs to be cleaned carefully, and that will take some time." Alfons glanced back towards her again. He could probably talk for hours and bore them to death, but that might not be the best contemplating plan. Only sounding convincing to Eckart was his first priority. Sounding convincing by telling the truth, that is.
Eckart had crossed her arms, but listened quietly and watched what he was showing her. "Fine," she replied shortly. "Name what you need, and get started."
Alfons named various work tools and types thin brushes. And it seemed like Thule Society was well prepared. Schiller brought him a repair kit which contained what he needed and more. Sitting by the kit and picking up some of the tools, Alfons lifted his eyes towards Eckart, who still stood some feet away with her arms crossed.
"Make sure he doesn't hurt Edward," Alfons said in a low voice, feeling the same apprehensiveness he had felt so strongly some minutes ago. "I don't trust the guy who is with him..."
Eckart smiled a thin smile. "Just get to work, Heiderich."
--
Edward threw a short glance at Ackman as Dietlinde Eckart ordered him to watch him. The sly, bloodthirsty grin in the man's face made him almost shudder.
As soon as Alfons had disappeared further into the huge room, Edward felt everything turn darker around him. But he wouldn't show it. He had been into worse mess before.
Ackman pulled out a chair and slumped down on it the same way as before, facing Edward.
Edward knitted his brows into a narrow stare. This man would possibly have hurt Alfons badly if someone hadn't showed up. What the word hurt considered in that particular meaning, he didn't even want to think about. It made his stomach curl and his mind blinking red in alert and not to mention awakening a strong anger inside him.
Ackman rested his arms on in front of him on the back of his chair, smiling deceitfully at Edward. "To bad my comrades came in when they did," he said scathingly. "I could've given you a pretty neat show." He grinned.
"You sick fucker," Edward growled. "Try touch him again, and-"
Ackman laughed. "You have a very dirty mouth, Edward Elric," he said, disrupting Edward's cursing description of what would've happened to him. "Maybe if I gave you something to suck on, you'd shut up."
Every hair on Edward's neck rose, and he grimaced in disgust. "Fucking bastard. Do it, and I'll bite it off."
Ackman laughed again.
Edward twisted agitatedly in his bonds. The rough texture of the ropes chafed against his skin over his chest and around his wrist, making the soreness sting uncomfortably.
Ackman approached him, dragging his chair a little closer until he could close his hand around Edward's chin. "You don't have anything to worry about," he simply said. Then he added. "Unless they leave you to me entirely alone. Then I would've been more worried about myself if I were you."
Edward twisted his head away and backed off from him by shoving his chair backwards with his feet. The legs of the chair scraped against the concrete.
Ackman pretended to look hurt. "Don't be so denouncing; maybe you'd even like it."
"Leave me the fuck alone!" Edward barked. "If not, tell me where my brother is. I don't have time for stinking perverts like you."
"You have all the time in the world," Ackman sneered. "You're not going anywhere."
"We'll see about that," Edward muttered. "Tell me where you bastards are hiding him."
Ackman lifted his eyebrows, sniggering. "I wouldn't tell you even if I knew. Sorry, big brother."
Edward's golden eyes grew, studying him. He didn't have any reason to lie about something like that. "You don't know where he is?"
"That's correct."
"Then who knows?" Edward demanded quietly.
Ackman grinned mockingly. "I told you before."
Edward gritted his teeth. "Schiller..." That German bastard that was with Alfons right now. He knew where Al was. How would he get him to talk? He needed a plan. His head started working, trying to make out a way to escape. First, he would need his arm back.
--
Alfons was halfway inside the motor jet, breathing in the smell of fuel, oil and dust. He coughed, a drop of sweat running down his forehead. He felt pretty nostalgic.
Schiller stood beside him with the torch, watching him work. Dietlinde Eckart had already gone somewhere else. He didn't know where. Every now and then Alfons glanced up at the man. It was the man who had caught him as he had been drugged with chloroform. Having the man standing over him while he worked didn't make him do a better job, rather the opposite. His fingers were trembling lightly and he could feel the watching eyes at his neck.
This man had reacted when Edward had mentioned his brother. Alfons just knew that Schiller knew where Alphonse Elric was. But likely nothing would make him tell him. That didn't stop Alfons from trying to start a conversation about the missing boy.
"You used this plane when you abducted Edward's brother, didn't you?"
Schiller's eyes narrowed at him. "Why?"
Alfons shrugged. "The sand. You must have landed since there's so much of it slowing down the motor. And I've heard that he disappeared in Lior."
"We weren't supposed to land," Schiller just said.
"I see." Alfons crawled out of the hole and searched through the repair kit for a smaller screwdriver. "Are you in charge of me because I look like him?" he asked, looking up with his large blue eyes.
Schiller gave him a long look. "You do look like him," he stated. "But that doesn't mean anything to us. We simply use you both for your knowledge."
Alfons' eyes narrowed in a small victory. He wondered if Schiller purposely told him this or if it was a slip. But he would use it for all its worth. "So that's why you're holding a thirteen-year-old captive. You made him do alchemy for you."
"Don't you have a job to do?" Schiller said tonelessly. "You should better do it properly."
Alfons nodded fast and crawled back into the inside of the motor jet. He dared continue the little interrogation as he was 'safely hidden' among metal and wires. "What did you make him do for you?" he asked carefully. "It must have been something big, since Dietlinde Eckart couldn't do it by herself."
"I wouldn't care about that if I were you," Schiller said, starting to sound slightly annoyed. "Alphonse Elric belongs to us now, and so are you."
Alfons felt an uncomfortable twirl in the pit of his gut. Belongs to us? What if they had managed to break the boy completely? Brainwash him? Would he be the same as Edward remembered and expected him to be?
Alfons shuddered, hoping that they weren't too late. He'd rather not think about it. Alphonse Elric was probably as resolute as his brother. If he were, he would be okay. Wouldn't he?
Alfons couldn't help think of the fact that it was a high chance of failing this mission. They were only two and they were captives, and they couldn't count on the military. If the military got their hands on Edward, Alfons didn't even know what would happen. They would probably arrest him and punish him.
Alfons let out a sigh. No. He couldn't think this way. This wasn't what Edward would expect from him. Edward counted on him. He couldn't give up that easily.
"Have you worked with planes a lot?" Schiller asked.
Alfons was kind of surprised of the question. It sounded as toneless as everything this man said, but it didn't seem to be meant to sound threatening like the way Ackman acted. Schiller was somehow different. More like he showed interest although he pretended not to. But still, Alfons wouldn't let his guard down. "Well," he replied carefully. "It's not the same as working with rockets, but it's easy to set myself into since I'm familiar with rockets."
"I see. Did you build a plane for this world to use?"
Alfons hesitated. "Yeah."
Schiller was silent for some seconds. "This world isn't supposed to have that technology."
Alfons stopped what he was doing, slowly lowering his tool. "You brought this technology to this world even if you're not supposed to be here, and you're using it against us." Only after he had said it Alfons noticed that he had named himself as one of the people from this world and not one from the one he was born in, and he smiled. "At least we built it here, with our own power."
"Only to die," Schiller said. "So why did you come to this world?"
Alfons snorted silently. "If I hadn't, I would've died."